Tuesday: Our Best Offering
Read Luke 7:37-47. What does this story teach us about the proper motivation for offerings to God?
Mary entered the room and saw Jesus reclining at the table. She broke the alabaster box of expensive nard and poured it on Him. Some thought her act was improper, considering that the life she lived was illicit.
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But Mary had been set free from demon possession (Luke 8:2). Then, after witnessing the resurrection of Lazarus, she became overwhelmed with gratitude. Her perfume was the most valuable possession she owned, and it was her way of showing thankfulness to Jesus.
This story captures what should truly be our motivation in the giving of our offerings: gratitude. After all, what other response should we have to the priceless gift of the grace of God? His generosity also prompts us to give, and when coupled with our gratitude, both make up the ingredients of meaningful offerings, including our time, talents, treasures, and bodies.
Read Exodus 34:26, Leviticus 22:19-24, and Numbers 18:29. While the context is completely different from today, what principle can we take from these texts in regard to our offerings?
Our best offerings may seem insufficient in our eyes, but they are significant in God’s. Giving God the best shows that we put Him first in our lives. We don’t give offerings in order to receive favors; instead, we give what we have out of gratitude for what we have been given in Christ Jesus.
“Entire devotion and benevolence, prompted by grateful love, will impart to the smallest offering, the willing sacrifice, a divine fragrance, making the gift of priceless value. But, after willingly yielding to our Redeemer all that we can bestow, be it ever so valuable to us, if we view our debt of gratitude to God as it really is, all that we may have offered will seem to us very insufficient and meager. But angels take these offerings, which to us seem poor, and present them as a fragrant offering before the throne, and they are accepted.” – Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 397.
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It is good to see the lesson giving attention to offerings as far broader than monetary (although the chosen picture unfortunately only illustrated monetary giving). I find that the giving of people via time, talents and other non-monetary means is less often acknowledged and affirmed within church.
What has been other's experience of this?
I have spent my lifetime as a church employee and have experienced all the usual blessings and bewilderments of church employment. I am now retired and have found a niche, sharing and contributing to society at large through my interest in bird photography. Just sharing in nature with people of all, or no religious persuasion through a common interest and encouraging one another to become involved in "stewardship of the environment" has proved a mutual blessing. There are so many unchurched people to share and become friends with. It is a whole new dimension for me.
Super cool your story! Everyone has a role in which needs to take an active part of and share God's blessings of talents!
Yes, there are biblical codes to follow, but we all have the responsability to learn what God really wants from us in a broader way! God Gave us His Son out of love! What He really asks for us is our hearts! When codes are met with a thankful heart we are in the right path. Perhaps at the end of this journey we can give back everything that we "own"!
Because from here we will just take nothing but our character!!! Happy day, my friend!
Even in secular employment, there can be influence beyond what we think. Over two years ago, I was “restructured” from my work at a local facility by head office. I had worked at that facility for nearly two decades, and I had had a couple of slightly religious discussions during the whole of my time there that had not gone anywhere (corporate policy forbids proselytizing); however, after my termination, my supervisor and I had a lengthy discussion about my faith, who God is and his impact on personal life. Other colleagues approached me to thank me for the influence of my life on theirs. It was a very strange experience, because I did not think that I had had much of a religious impact on anyone at all, in spite of my prayers for people and opportunities to "be a witness."
Everyone has a gift given by God and in this way you can truly be a blessing. And you have been a blessing for them.
The scriptures states that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. How many of us tend to put classification to this by seeing others more sinful than we are thus seeing them less deserving of His grace. Even sincere acts of giving is judged based on our passed foolish acts ! We thank God for He alone looks inward and sees the desires of my heart! We thank God for Mary! Though our sins may be as scarlet they shall be made pure by His blood!
Why should I not give all my increase, including financial, to God? Acts 2:1. Acts 2:42-47. Acts 4:32-35. The very early church held all things in common. What is the downside of us doing the same? "...I will put my trust in Him..." Hebrews 2:13
The notion of holding everything in common is one of the ideas behind communism. The problem is that human behavior does not change all that much and greed and selfishness tend to rear their ugly heads in such a system, just as much as when we have individual property. A good secular description of the dominance of greed, pride and selfishness can be found in George Orwell's classic, "Animal Farm".
Incidentally, I have seen "Christian Communes" and my observation is that they are often run by a dominant powerful personality.
Originally I wrote a much longer post but saw I was over the suggested limits. So I truncated it a bit. 🙂 I will aim for balance in this attempt.
Maurice, I agree with your comments regarding communism. The original premise introduced by Karl Marx (the widely-accepted father of communism) and others was almost identical to the verbiage as the Acts accounts regarding having everything in common. (For the sake of brevity, I invite you to compare the Communist creed with Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-35.) It didn't take long for the devil to pervert a fairly decent idea. We wound up with Stalin, perhaps the most "successful" mass murderer ever. That is how it wound up then and, as you say, will always do so when mankind is in charge.
I believe the account in Acts is the Holy Spirit convicting us that is the way it will be when HE is in charge. (Notice He is not satisfied to bring it up more than once, as if to say, "Pay attention... please?") The problem with us humans is we are selfish and incapable of, on our own, trusting one another. We are afraid of letting go completely because someone will take advantage us. I submit that that doesn't matter at all. God poured out everything through Jesus Christ. They (the three of Them) held nothing back, knowing that most of us couldn't not be trusted but, even so, they gave all. We do not have to trust each other; we can trust the Holy Spirit! Why are we so suspicious and unbelieving that God means it when He says He will supply all of our needs? (Phil. 4:19) Let the Holy Spirit "hold the bag". Let the Holy Spirit be our Treasurer, who we can trust completely, if we are willing.
As one reads through the Acts (of the Holy Spirit?), it is jaw-dropping how many souls were converted in an extremely short period of time, and those are only the ones that are recorded. Could it be that the reason is that the church was all-in? 100%? Now, that seems insane? Why? It was a radical idea back then, but it shouldn't seem so radical to us since we see have an idea what would happen now if we allowed our lives to be structured by the Holy Spirit as theirs were.
My possessions are few and are financially worth very little. My income would seem a pittance to most reading this. I am in the process of giving all my financial assets and increase to God, along with any other assets to someone in need or them. The Holy Spirit has not yet shown me how to distribute these things but I trust that He will. I trust that, even if have nothing, He will supply my needs. If I need $40 to have another month of phone, He will supply it. If not, then I will joyfully wait until He provides the money to pay it. If it doesn't come, I will know that I don't need phone service. (Then I can give away my phone! :))
Last night my father told me of a student at the church elementary school. This boy's single mother is unable to pay any tuition to speak of. There is no money in the church budget, so members are attempting to get together the $250 monthly tuition. The Holy Spirit impressed me to contribute so I sent $100 with the pledge to continue as long as my increase is at least that per month. This has zero to do with my generosity; I have none. This an example of holding all things in common (or at least a start) and distributing to those who have need. Tomorrow I may have need, but apparently none today. It was this experience that led me to decide that I would take the plunge. (Incidentally, this reminds of taking the plunge for Jesus 3.5 years ago.)
There is much to say and talk about. I still have questions. For me, it comes down to this: I find plenty of evidence that this is the way God prefers us to live and none that He prefers anything else. (I propose that 10% percent is the bare minimum.) I don't mean to make an argument. I am sharing my experience and my conviction. You may or may not care to consider what I am proposing. Either way, I pray that our Father will continue to bless us all as we seek God's will for us.
"I will put my trust in him." Hebrews 2:13
I think that whatever the economical/political scheme we live under, the message is that we are to be generous towards God and others with our time, money and talents. As I mentioned in my previous post, "Animal Farm" canvasses the idea that human greed runs deep. We as Christians have a responsibility:
Thank you Carl for that wonderful testimony. I truly admire your faith in the One Who has promised to care for you. I know others like you who have literally given everything to the Lord and to His work on earth. Contrary to what has sometimes been said, they have never had to rely on others for support. God has been faithful in providing all of their needs, without a single exception.
Joyce Griffith asks the following question here: https://ssnet.org/blog/9-offerings-of-gratitude-discussion-starters/
"How often does it happen that church members give 'too much'?"
I don't think it's possible to "give too much" if, as Christ gave, we give from our hearts. I have been blessed by your testimony. Thanks again.
God bless you Carl. You have truly found The Pearl of Great Price. "He is a gift, but only to those who give themselves, soul, body, and spirit, to Him without reserve. We are to give ourselves to Christ, to live a life of willing obedience to all His requirements. All that we are, all the talents and capabilities we possess, are the Lord’s, to be consecrated to His service. When we thus give ourselves wholly to Him, Christ, with all the treasures of heaven, gives Himself to us. We obtain the pearl of great price. Christ Object Lessons." Page 116.2. Stay open to good advice though. I don't believe Luke in Acts was implying that they all pooled all their funds to live and eat together. A commune breeds one person to abtain power and much of the time that breeds corruption. "Jimmy Jones" "David Kurish" Did either take the Gospel to the whole world? No. Look at the gospel going forward with our SDA originization and personial ministeries.
Thank you for sharing, Jeffrey. I honor your faith and commitment.
We each need to listen what the Holy Spirit says to us.
Let me share our experience and our understanding of the Acts 2, Acts 4 experience: We were asked to join a independent Seventh-day Adventist school (possibly recognizable to many of our readers) as teachers some years ago, when we were much younger. We declined for several reasons. One was that during the time we would get such a small allowance that we would have had to use up the money invested in our home, and if we ever decided to leave we would have had nothing to our name. The school was run on just such a basis as it seems the early church ran for a short while: All things were held in common. There would be community purchasing of supplies, etc. (The school has since then radically changed its method of operation and is currently prospering. If we were still young, we would feel much more positive in taking positions there now.)
There were other reasons we declined, but our sense of being God's stewards played a significant role. When individuals have no personal property/money to manage, they cannot exercise stewardship. In effect, it means giving up our stewardship responsibility to some other person or organization. We did not see this as something God wanted us to do.
As we understand it, the infant apostolic church held all things in common for a very brief time - a time of crisis when some lost all material support because of their faith. (We see no evidence that this practice continued for many years either in Jerusalem or anywhere else on the planet. Instead we find encouragement to give cheerfully and the example of more prosperous members supporting the more needy church in Jerusalem.)There may be a time God's people will band together for their mutual support and again hold all things in common, but we don't see that this time has come.
God entrusted many of his saints with much more in the way of material goods than we ever possessed, and He continues to do so. I believe God wants to use His people as channels for not only spiritual but also material blessings. The promise is that if we allow ourselves to be channels, He will keep the channels supplied. (See Counsels on Stewardship, p. 164) This requires a spirit of discernment and paying close attention to what the Holy Spirit tells us. If we consider ourselves as "stewards," rather than as outright owners of our material possessions, we will meet the needs of those around us as we are able. In fact, we feel very strongly that local church should see to it that none of their local members suffer unduly from the lack of material goods.
You may feel you can serve God better without any material possessions altogether, thus making yourself dependent on God meeting your needs through the possessions of others. You may be right, but I suggest you think over your reasons for doing so. I do know that we would be of far less use to God if we got rid of all our material possessions. (For one thing, Sabbath School Net would have disappeared many years ago, since we did not ask for contributions for many years.) We would not be able to minister to others, but we would be dependent on others meeting our needs.
On the other hand, those of us with material possessions, such as houses and lands, need to keep very close to God to know when the time arrives that we need to sell out in order to contribute the proceeds to hasten God's final message. None of us can be conscience for any other person.
I feel compelled to share a story of a friend. She inherited a house clear and free from her parents. Over the years she took out mortgages on it--sometimes to help other people. Her health declined and she was able to work less and less, unable to make mortgage payments. Friends and church helped, but eventually the house was repossessed. She became bitter and critical. She felt she had been generous with others and now people weren't bailing her out when she needed it. There needs to be a balance. She perceived herself as generous. Others saw her as irresponsible (and it was evident in other areas, also). God isn't in the business of bailing us out of problems of our own making (although He certainly often does).
As a practical case in point, I have been self employed for many years. There is no company to give me a pension when I retire. It would be foolhardy for me not to set aside some of my income for use when I no longer have income, or to not position myself to live within my means (i.e. being debt free) at that time. I personally would consider it presumptuous to do otherwise and expect God to "take care of me". He has given me the ability to plan and provide, and I believe he expects me to use good judgment in doing so.
Thank you all for your responses. Your thoughts here have given me pause. Some convictions are not impervious to wise counsel.
Inge, you mentioned a couple of things that especially give me pause. The idea that "communism" might be situational cannot be dismissed. I had not considered that the "holding all things in common" was required for the unique situation in Jerusalem. I think about the writings of Paul and the other apostles. In them, they often exhort members of the body to be generous to our brothers and sisters, but I don't see any advice to divest oneself of all material goods for any reason. Still thinking and praying about this.
I see Jesus pointing out the widow and her contribution of all she had; He spoke well of her sacrifice. Jesus told the rich young ruler to give everything he had to the poor. These are examples that add support to my decision. It is true though, that Jesus was not saying that these things are something everyone should be doing. When Jesus was here, He was extremely grateful that Lazarus had not sold his property and given the proceeds to the poor. (On the other hand, what his sister did with that expensive perfume? Hmmm.)
The prodigal (Mary) and the pragmatic (Lazarus). Perhaps these are the two end points of a spectrum on which the Holy Spirit leads us, to that point where our Father receives maximum glory. I imagine that, as time passes, that point changes for each of us.
Another thought that challenges my conviction is the idea that one must never knowingly or intentionally ask others to bear ones own needs. I agree. My thinking is that if one is relying on the Holy Spirit to direct the giving and the receiving, then the rest of it becomes irrelevant. God can supply all our needs in any way He sees fit. Perhaps it is idealistic of me to think this. As I mentioned before, it is much simpler for someone like me, being blessed with few assetss to be responsible for, to make such a leap.
The bigger picture. All of these words evoke in me a longing for this: "The Infinite One revealed Himself in power to His church. It was as if for ages this influence had been held in restraint, and now Heaven rejoiced in being able to pour out upon the church the riches of the Spirit's grace." AA 38. Is the Holy Spirit being held in restraint now? Let it never be that we are the cause.
Don't be discouraged Jeffrey. The Holy Spirit guides each of us differently. Jesus asks us to surrender whatever separates us from Him. For some (e.g., the rich young ruler), that may be EVERYTHING. For others, it may be less.
That said, I believe that it is impossible to "give God too much." Even if we give "too much" in error, He will be faithful in his promises (Proverbs 10:3: Psalm 107:9; Proverbs 13:25; Matthew 6:31-32; Luke 12:31; Philippians 4:19; Matthew 7:11; Luke 12:24; Psalm 145:15-16; Psalm 136:25-26; 2 Corinthians 9:8; especially James 4:3 and Luke 12:15; Ephesians 3:20) and trusting those promises is genuine faith.
Everything short of that is unbelief. I understand that feathers that will be ruffled by that statement but it is truth from the mouth of God. We either trust Him, or we trust ourselves. Granted, it is a difficult choice but trusting God can never be the wrong choice.
Jeffrey: Another quick note. Your faith and actions based on that faith affect not only your ephemeral life on earth, but all who see you now, read you on this blog and learn from your faith for all generations until Jesus returns. Consider the long-term wisdom imparted by a mere 2 mites (Luke 21:1-4).
"Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Bow before him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end as dust. Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord. His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything he has done (Psalm 22:29-31).
Beautiful, Sieg. The texts strike to the core. I also loved the reminder that we are being paid attention to, to say the least. The universe is waiting with bated breath to see what the Holy Spirit is going to do next. Thank you for the uplifting and encouraging words.
A thought - God commands us to bring all the tithes into the storehouse. Tithe = tenth. How many tithes do I have? Ten. Am I to bring all of them into the storehouse? Just a thought.
A few more thoughts... It seems there are some of you responding to my posts who might have missed some of my words or perhaps those words lacked clarity. I hope nobody thinks I am suggesting that we should divest ourselves of all our earthly goods and rely on other people for our sustenance.
What I am talking about has nothing to do with relying on other human beings but instead putting ones trust wholly and completely in the Holy Spirit (Immanuel - God with us today). This may seem like nuance, but I see a vast difference between the two. What I envision is all of us trusting the Holy Spirit to take care of all of us. As Sieg quoted, "My God shall supply all your needs according to HIS riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:19. I think of that as a promise to me individually, but it must also be a promise to us corporately.
Maybe I am putting the cart before the horse. I am not looking merely at how the early church managed their finances. I am looking at a somewhat bigger picture.
For the 10 days leading up to Pentecost, the disciples were "steadfastly continuing in prayer with one accord". Acts 1:14. (Berean Literal Bible) This was before Pentecost. In Acts 2:42, you may notice that the same sentiment prevailed after Pentecost as before. Very similar language in Acts 2:43-45. Acts 4:32-35 reads along the same lines.
Not only did they have everything in common, they were in one accord and continuing steadfastly in prayer, even before Pentecost. Do these scriptures describe our church today? Do we pray steadfastly with and for one another? Corporately even? It has been extremely rare in my experience; I pray your experience is different.
What I see and experience myself is that we don't trust each other. We don't treat each other very well. For example, it is difficult for me to give others the benefit of the doubt. I talk about others when they are not present, often in a less than uplifting way. I hold you to a high standard that is impossible for me to reach.
Imagine a group of Spirit-filled believers who get together more than once a week to pray steadfastly for the Holy Spirit and for each other. We confess the wrongs that we have done to each other, personally and/or corporately. I long to be part of a group like this where I could say to you all, "Look, I am being hammered by this spirit of criticism (which I am). Will you please pray with me right now that I might be healed of this horrific sin?" Look at James 5:16.
Are we willing to pray together, confessing to and praying for each other, admitting to God, to each other, and to ourselves that we are all wretched? Not to some degree, but all equally wretched. Jesus says that we are but we don't admit it. Not really.
There is a point to all this. I have been walking with Jesus for 3.5 years or so. I imagine most of you have been walking with Him longer than that. However long it has been, doesn't it seem like we might be missing something? The disciples almost missed the truth that Jesus was actually, truly, for real, God. Even then, with all the prophecy and the reality of God in the flesh, it took them much longer than it should have.
It seems to me that we are missing something big. We should not still be here. How many more years? How many more camp meetings, GYCs, and 10 Days of Prayer? How many more GCs?? I submit to you that whatever it is we are doing, it is not working. If we trust the Holy Spirit in all things, He will leads out of here. Together.
I see I have gone over the post limit again.
Jeffrey, I hear what you are saying and I think there is a lot that can be done to promote a collaborative spirit among us. Here are a couple of additional thoughts.
Our prayers with one another should be a proper conversation and not just a one-sided monologue with God. Those of us who have studied communication talk about two-way communication of messages and responses. All too often we pray a set pattern of phrases that we think make acceptable prayer sentences rather than thinking about what we are praying for and why.
A very big part of prayer is listening. Do we really listen to what others are saying in their prayers? I often say when discussing prayer, that we ar the ears of God. We need to listen with discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide our responses when we pray.
Secondly, we sometimes forget that the biblical account of the early Church is about what happened and it was not all perfect. There were problems. The Greeks feared that they were being treated as second class citizens and complained about that. The church solved the Greek problem by appointing deacons. There was also the judaising problem. The Jews wanted gentile converts to become Jewish and that gave rise to the circumcision problem. Some of these problems nearly split the church. Records outside the Bible speak about the early doctrinal differences that crept into the church as well. To a certain extent these problems came about because they did not trust one another.
If there is a lesson to be learned from the early church it is that problems can last a long time and we have to get on with the work of spreading the gospel, sometimes without solving the problems but learning to live with them.
I gather from this lesson that gratitude should be our motivation for giving to God for all He has done for us, not only monetary gifts but we should dedicate our time talents and bodies.
“Entire devotion and benevolence, prompted by grateful love, will impart to the smallest offering, the willing sacrifice, a divine fragrance, making the gift of priceless value. But, after willingly yielding to our Redeemer all that we can bestow, be it ever so valuable to us, if we view our debt of gratitude to God as it really is, all that we may have offered will seem to us very insufficient and meager. But angels take these offerings, which to us seem poor, and present them as a fragrant offering before the throne, and they are accepted.” – Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 397.
“Giving God the best shows that we put Him first in our lives.” What does this means?
Do you give your husband or wife the second best things? How does he or she rate with your time usage? If you have a successful marriage you will know what your answer is. It's the same with spiritual things.
When is the last time we made our offerings a practical expression of our faith? When we pay off a bill do we give an additional payment as an offering of gratitude to the Lord? He provided the job and intelligence to keep it. When we were saved from a car wreck do we put an extra 5 10 20 in the offering because God has protected us and we are giving in gratitude?
When the Holy Spirit nudges us to give up a habit, we give it up in gratitude of his protection and loving care. To remind us, when we give up this habit, we become a living sacrifice a daily offering of acknowledgement that God is loving me to make sure We do what is best for us. Or what about when we give up my Sabbath nap to go visit a sick member of church? These are more living sacrifices. God is so good we will never in all our life times together be able to out give Him, but just as that mother waits for the smile of recognition, it’s only that small tiny smile that she longs for. So our tiny gifts of gratitude become mountains of worth while to Christ our Savior. I challenge us to be more grateful in small practical ways.
Not I but Christ is the best offering anyone can give unto the Lord.
As you can see in the same Tuesday lesson at the bottom of this lesson it says that "Giving God the best shows that we put Him first in our lives.”
What does this commentator means by this?
Is the above statement contradiction because of what
John 13: 34,35 states is our best we can do?
we all belong to God by creation and redemption.so best we have should be His without objection.I suggest Abel's offering is the best.